Bedtime Story
by TracyT
Summary: Rick and Kate get a night time visitor


Title: Bedtime Story

Author: TracyT

Rating: T

Category: Romance, Family

Summary: Rick and Kate get a night time visitor

Spoilers: None

Archive: Yes, Please!

Feedback to:

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. No profit will be made on this. It is a labor of love.

Excerpt from "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.

Note: The gist of this story stems from a PSA that was on several years ago. I appropriated it and put Kate, Rick and Emma into it, plus I added a bunch of other stuff to it.

***REVISED! I debated whether to put the baby talk in it or not, and after a few comments that it was just a bit too precious, I decided to take it out.

Author's Note: Fluff Alert! It has been brought to my attention that my Castle stories of late have been a bit heavy and depressing and some fluff was asked for. I am still working on the conclusion to Worst Case Scenario, but I wanted to give you all some fluff. For Corlando, who asked for something lighter. Also, I realize that in every previous Castle story I have written, Kate cries. I don't actually see her as a big crier, but the water works are going for her in all my other stories. I wanted to write one where she actually DOESN'T cry. Hope you all like it.

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Rick slowly came awake and became aware someone was tugging on his hand.

"Daddy, can you read me a bedtime story?" A little voice said. A book appeared on the bed next to him.

Rick sighed and tried to maintain consciousness. "Em, boo-boo, it's the middle of the night you should be in bed."

"Daddy, please, read me a bedtime story." She tugged on the sleeve of his T-shirt. Gone were the days when Rick and Kate could dispense with the night wear. Ever since Emma had graduated to her 'big girl bed' she'd taken to making nocturnal visits to her parents on a regular basis. Rick thought she'd inherited his tendency for insomnia, but the pediatrician thought it was normal, so they weren't terribly worried.

Tonight Rick had come out of the bathroom wearing an old gray T-shirt and some older blue and green plaid pajama pants. Kate had eyed his ensemble and said, "Cute."

Rick flexed his muscles, fists on either side of his head like a body-builder, raised one eyebrow and said in his best Pepe Le Pew voice, "Eez sexy, no?"

"Well, you got the 'no' part right," Kate grinned at him and held out a hand. "Come to bed, hot stuff."

Now, Rick could feel Kate stir on her side of the bed and knew she was awake, too.

"Daddy," Emma yanked on his sleeve again.

"Honey, Daddy's tired. Go ask Mommy." He was pleased to hear her little feet pad quickly over to Kate's side of the bed, carrying the book in front of her like an offering.

"Mommy, can Daddy read me a bedtime story?" Kate burst out laughing.

Rick sighed and sat up, admitting defeat. He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.

"C'mere, baby," Kate said. She reached down to pull her daughter up into the bed, placing Emma in between them. "_Yes_, Daddy can read you a bed time story, can't you, Daddy?"

Rick waggled his eyebrows at Kate. "You know what it does to me when you call me 'Daddy,' right?" She snorted and hit him with the extra pillow by way of handing it to him. He took it and grinned, pleased with her reaction. Emma giggled, not understanding the joke, but she liked when Mommy and Daddy were silly with each other.

Rick pushed the pillow against the headboard and settled back

"Okay, but just one, then it's back to bed, all right?" Emma nodded enthusiastically. She moved around until she was lying against him, with her head on his chest and her little hand over his heart. The arm he had around her held the book and he put the other behind his head.

His three-year old daughter looked so adorable, looking up at him expectantly in her pink nightgown. She wiggled her toes against him and he glanced down at her little feet with the shell-pink nail polish on them. Kate had painted them for her a few days ago, and Emma couldn't wait to show him when he got home. Rick kissed her little blonde head.

When she was born, she arrived with Kate's green eyes and surprisingly, a head full of white-blonde hair. Holding her in their hospital room, Rick had tried to look stern when he asked, "Is there something you want to tell me, madam?"

Kate had shrugged and said, "Must have been the mailman."

"Our mailman is a woman."

"Oh. The Fed Ex guy? They look so cute in those shorts."

Rick tried to keep the scowl on his face, but he couldn't maintain it and chuckled.

"What?" Kate asked.

"I was a tow-head when I was a kid. Same color hair and everything. It'll get darker as she gets older. I'll show you some pictures later." He had. One of him at the beach when he was about three or four, in his Spider Man swim trunks and a head full of curly white-blonde hair. Kate wondered if Martha ever took the scissors to that mop, but he looked so cute she didn't say anything.

"You comfy?" Rick asked his daughter.

"Yup."

"You all ready?"

"Yup."

"You're sure?" He winked at Kate.

Emma patted his chest. "Story, Daddy," she insisted.

"Yeah, Daddy, get on with it." Kate was lying on her side with her head propped on her hand.

"You, too?" He asked. Kate made a 'come on' motion with one hand.

"Okay, okay."

Rick opened the book and began to read, "The night Max wore his wolf-suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said, "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything…."

#######

When he got to the end, he looked down and Emma was sound asleep against him. He carefully closed the book and put it on the nightstand. "Okay if she stays here?" he asked Kate softly.

"Yeah, don't disturb her." Kate said.

He looked down at his sleeping daughter and sighed. "We are sooo never going to have sex again, are we?"

Kate leaned around Emma to give him a quick kiss. "Maybe when she's in college."

Rick whimpered and reached up to shut off the light.

Fin


End file.
